On Sunday our mission was to hike up to Harvard Cabin on the slopes of Mt. Washington just below Huntington Ravine to test a cellular hotspot. The hotspot didn’t pan out, but it was a lovely short hike on a snowy day!
It was snowing gently when we left Pinkham visitor’s center. The summit forecast called for high winds, but we weren’t going that far– Harvard Cabin is below treeline, so we would be sheltered from the wind for most of the 2-mile hike. Tuckerman Ravine trail is wide and well packed here. It gets lots of traffic and the forest service and AMC use a snow cat and other machines along this stretch to bring supplies to Hermit Lake Shelter. Even though the snow was deep between the trees, it was well packed on the trail and we didn’t need snowshoes.
Still snowing when we reached the intersection where we turn off the trail on to the fire road. We never even glimpsed the mountain through the clouds and falling snow.
Constructed in 1962 by the Harvard Mountaineering club, the Harvard Cabin is open for public use in the winter. We stopped in for an afternoon, but you can also stay the night there either sleeping in the loft or in one of the tent sites. When we stopped by the caretaker was not at home, though we ran into him later that day at Pinkham visitor center.
Inside the cabin looks just as you’d expect for a seasonal outpost halfway between the paved road and the worst weather in the world. We were there before 4PM so the stove wasn’t yet lit, but it was still much warmer inside (38F) than outside (13F).
It was quiet the afternoon we stopped in, but on busy evenings it fills to capacity with hikers, skiers, and ice climbers, and takes on a festive air with gear hanging from every roof beam and gently steaming dry.
It had mostly stopped snowing when we left the cabin for the hike back down the mountain, and by the time we reached Crystal Cascades just above the visitor center, there were suggestions of blue sky, and we could just make out the ski slopes of Wildcat on the other side of the notch.
